Chris Lang
@reddmonitor.bsky.social
Your daily reminder that carbon offsets are a scam.
reddmonitor.substack.com
reddmonitor.substack.com
A new report by Swedwatch shows that Ken Newcombe's C-Quest wasn't just selling millions of fake carbon credits.
In Zimbabwe, benefit sharing was "missing" and the community engagement was "poor".
Oh, and the stoves tended to fall to bits.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/communitie...
In Zimbabwe, benefit sharing was "missing" and the community engagement was "poor".
Oh, and the stoves tended to fall to bits.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/communitie...
Communities in Zimbabwe received nothing from carbon credit sales in C-Quest’s cookstove projects
A new report by Swedwatch and Green Governance Africa exposes “missing benefit sharing and poor community engagement”.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 16, 2026 at 8:07 AM
A new report by Swedwatch shows that Ken Newcombe's C-Quest wasn't just selling millions of fake carbon credits.
In Zimbabwe, benefit sharing was "missing" and the community engagement was "poor".
Oh, and the stoves tended to fall to bits.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/communitie...
In Zimbabwe, benefit sharing was "missing" and the community engagement was "poor".
Oh, and the stoves tended to fall to bits.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/communitie...
“We conclude that social-ecological complexity fundamentally undermines the reliability of causal attribution in offset projects and considerably limits their ability to meaningfully contribute to mitigating climate change.”
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/reddisms-f...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/reddisms-f...
REDDisms: February 2026
An occasional series of the things people say about carbon trading, the climate crisis, and REDD.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 11:05 AM
“We conclude that social-ecological complexity fundamentally undermines the reliability of causal attribution in offset projects and considerably limits their ability to meaningfully contribute to mitigating climate change.”
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/reddisms-f...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/reddisms-f...
Statement from the East Africa Indigenous Women-Led Assembly (EAIWA) about plans to evict the Indigenous Yaaku from the Mukogodo Forest ahead of a government security operation.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/indigenous...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/indigenous...
Indigenous Peoples threatened with violence, livestock theft, and evictions from Mukogodo Forest, Kenya
Statement and letter from the East Africa Indigenous Women-Led Assembly.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Statement from the East Africa Indigenous Women-Led Assembly (EAIWA) about plans to evict the Indigenous Yaaku from the Mukogodo Forest ahead of a government security operation.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/indigenous...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/indigenous...
KOKO Networks' bioethanol cookstove programme in Kenya collapsed at the beginning of this month.
It turns out that KOKO was cooking the books about how many carbon credits its cooking stoves generated.
Another example of "pervasive over-crediting".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/koko-netwo...
It turns out that KOKO was cooking the books about how many carbon credits its cooking stoves generated.
Another example of "pervasive over-crediting".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/koko-netwo...
KOKO Networks’ cookstove carbon credits in Kenya were “largely hot air”
“They would have taken everything that Kenya is entitled to.”
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:24 PM
KOKO Networks' bioethanol cookstove programme in Kenya collapsed at the beginning of this month.
It turns out that KOKO was cooking the books about how many carbon credits its cooking stoves generated.
Another example of "pervasive over-crediting".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/koko-netwo...
It turns out that KOKO was cooking the books about how many carbon credits its cooking stoves generated.
Another example of "pervasive over-crediting".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/koko-netwo...
Today's post just might be a little delayed:
February 11, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Today's post just might be a little delayed:
Reposted by Chris Lang
“The argument pushed by governments & industry that the emissions can be ignored because new trees will absorb them in the future is wrong & dangerous.”
Woody biomass is a false climate solution & a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
Woody biomass is a false climate solution & a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
Woody biomass is a false climate solution and a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests
A new report highlights the threat to Indonesia’s forests from industrial biomass demand.
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:33 PM
“The argument pushed by governments & industry that the emissions can be ignored because new trees will absorb them in the future is wrong & dangerous.”
Woody biomass is a false climate solution & a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
Woody biomass is a false climate solution & a massive threat to Indonesia’s forests - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
A Swiss company called ASC Impact claims it is developing a "sustainable" carbon plantation in Ethiopia.
But local communities are concerned. "The trees make us very worried," journalists Jennifer Steiner and @aninanina.bsky.social report one man as saying.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/confusion-...
But local communities are concerned. "The trees make us very worried," journalists Jennifer Steiner and @aninanina.bsky.social report one man as saying.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/confusion-...
Confusion and alarm over ASC Impact’s carbon plantations in Gambella, Ethiopia
“The trees make us very worried.”
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:32 PM
A Swiss company called ASC Impact claims it is developing a "sustainable" carbon plantation in Ethiopia.
But local communities are concerned. "The trees make us very worried," journalists Jennifer Steiner and @aninanina.bsky.social report one man as saying.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/confusion-...
But local communities are concerned. "The trees make us very worried," journalists Jennifer Steiner and @aninanina.bsky.social report one man as saying.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/confusion-...
Reposted by Chris Lang
globaljusticeecology.org/climate-cata...
GJEP Statement: Climate Catastrophe and the ICE Storm
Climate catastrophe isn’t the future. It’s already happening and shaping how governments respond.
@biofuelwatch.bsky.social @dhlovelife.bsky.social @ienearth.bsky.social @hoodwinkedhothouse.bsky.social
GJEP Statement: Climate Catastrophe and the ICE Storm
Climate catastrophe isn’t the future. It’s already happening and shaping how governments respond.
@biofuelwatch.bsky.social @dhlovelife.bsky.social @ienearth.bsky.social @hoodwinkedhothouse.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 7:03 PM
globaljusticeecology.org/climate-cata...
GJEP Statement: Climate Catastrophe and the ICE Storm
Climate catastrophe isn’t the future. It’s already happening and shaping how governments respond.
@biofuelwatch.bsky.social @dhlovelife.bsky.social @ienearth.bsky.social @hoodwinkedhothouse.bsky.social
GJEP Statement: Climate Catastrophe and the ICE Storm
Climate catastrophe isn’t the future. It’s already happening and shaping how governments respond.
@biofuelwatch.bsky.social @dhlovelife.bsky.social @ienearth.bsky.social @hoodwinkedhothouse.bsky.social
Six NGOs in Madagascar have written to Verra to complain about Tozzi Green's tree-planting carbon project in Madagascar.
Local communities are demanding that the company leaves their land.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/six-malaga...
Local communities are demanding that the company leaves their land.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/six-malaga...
Six Malagasy civil society organisations have written to Verra to complain about Tozzi Green’s carbon plantation land grab in Madagascar
Local communities have been protesting against the company’s operations for more than a decade.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Six NGOs in Madagascar have written to Verra to complain about Tozzi Green's tree-planting carbon project in Madagascar.
Local communities are demanding that the company leaves their land.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/six-malaga...
Local communities are demanding that the company leaves their land.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/six-malaga...
KOKO Networks relied on carbon trading to finance its bioethanol cookstoves in Kenya.
Last week, the company collapsed after the Kenyan government refused to issue a letter of authorisation to sell carbon credits under Article 6 and CORSIA.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-collap...
Last week, the company collapsed after the Kenyan government refused to issue a letter of authorisation to sell carbon credits under Article 6 and CORSIA.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-collap...
The collapse of KOKO Networks. A cookstoves project in Kenya that relied on compliance carbon trading
When the Kenyan government refused to issue a letter of authorisation KOKO collapsed.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:58 PM
KOKO Networks relied on carbon trading to finance its bioethanol cookstoves in Kenya.
Last week, the company collapsed after the Kenyan government refused to issue a letter of authorisation to sell carbon credits under Article 6 and CORSIA.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-collap...
Last week, the company collapsed after the Kenyan government refused to issue a letter of authorisation to sell carbon credits under Article 6 and CORSIA.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-collap...
A recent paper in Nature Climate Change highlights the danger that carbon trading under the UNFCCC “could undermine global climate action”.
Article 6 rules "lack sufficient safeguards to ensure that these carbon credits deliver real climate benefits".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/carbon-tra...
Article 6 rules "lack sufficient safeguards to ensure that these carbon credits deliver real climate benefits".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/carbon-tra...
Carbon trading under Article 6 threatens to make the climate crisis worse
UN standards inevitably fail to address the flaws in inherent in carbon trading.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 1:38 PM
A recent paper in Nature Climate Change highlights the danger that carbon trading under the UNFCCC “could undermine global climate action”.
Article 6 rules "lack sufficient safeguards to ensure that these carbon credits deliver real climate benefits".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/carbon-tra...
Article 6 rules "lack sufficient safeguards to ensure that these carbon credits deliver real climate benefits".
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/carbon-tra...
Verra has responded to my questions about the recent launch of 500 million Carbon Coins by China Carbon Neutral Development Group.
The launch "appears to be inconsistent" with clause 1.9 of the Verra Registry Terms of Use.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-launch...
The launch "appears to be inconsistent" with clause 1.9 of the Verra Registry Terms of Use.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-launch...
“The launch of 500 million Carbon Coins appears to be inconsistent” with the Verra Registry Terms
“Verra is currently assessing the matter to determine the appropriate next steps.”
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Verra has responded to my questions about the recent launch of 500 million Carbon Coins by China Carbon Neutral Development Group.
The launch "appears to be inconsistent" with clause 1.9 of the Verra Registry Terms of Use.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-launch...
The launch "appears to be inconsistent" with clause 1.9 of the Verra Registry Terms of Use.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-launch...
I first wrote about Brasil Mata Viva in 2012 - a UK-based scam company called Carvier Limited was selling 3 million carbon credits from the company.
Now, the collapse of Banco Master in Brazil features carbon credits from a Brasil Mata Viva REDD project.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-bigges...
Now, the collapse of Banco Master in Brazil features carbon credits from a Brasil Mata Viva REDD project.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-bigges...
The “biggest bank fraud” in Brazil’s history involves carbon credits from Fazenda Floresta Amazônica, a Brasil Mata Viva project
REDD-Monitor first warned about Brasil Mata Viva in 2012.
reddmonitor.substack.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:55 AM
I first wrote about Brasil Mata Viva in 2012 - a UK-based scam company called Carvier Limited was selling 3 million carbon credits from the company.
Now, the collapse of Banco Master in Brazil features carbon credits from a Brasil Mata Viva REDD project.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-bigges...
Now, the collapse of Banco Master in Brazil features carbon credits from a Brasil Mata Viva REDD project.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-bigges...
In his speech in Davos, Mark Carney somehow managed not to talk about:
Trump
Fascism
Gaza
Venezuela
The Plastic People of the Universe
The Mothers of Invention
US imperialism
Structural adjustment programmes
The climate crisis
I thought I should.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/no-mark-ca...
Trump
Fascism
Gaza
Venezuela
The Plastic People of the Universe
The Mothers of Invention
US imperialism
Structural adjustment programmes
The climate crisis
I thought I should.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/no-mark-ca...
No, Mark Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum was not “pretty good”
Some thoughts on Carney’s “a rupture, not a transition” speech.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:43 PM
In his speech in Davos, Mark Carney somehow managed not to talk about:
Trump
Fascism
Gaza
Venezuela
The Plastic People of the Universe
The Mothers of Invention
US imperialism
Structural adjustment programmes
The climate crisis
I thought I should.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/no-mark-ca...
Trump
Fascism
Gaza
Venezuela
The Plastic People of the Universe
The Mothers of Invention
US imperialism
Structural adjustment programmes
The climate crisis
I thought I should.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/no-mark-ca...
For the past few months, REDD-Monitor has been running a series titled "Crooked Carbon Business," based on briefings by Simon Counsell and Jutta Kill.
This is the last one in the series - an overview of the documentation.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
This is the last one in the series - an overview of the documentation.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
Crooked Carbon Business: Overview of documentation
Carbon trading has made the climate crisis worse.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:46 AM
For the past few months, REDD-Monitor has been running a series titled "Crooked Carbon Business," based on briefings by Simon Counsell and Jutta Kill.
This is the last one in the series - an overview of the documentation.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
This is the last one in the series - an overview of the documentation.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
A very welcome statement from @diem25.bsky.social opposing the World Economic Forum:
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/diem25-we-...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/diem25-we-...
DiEM25: “We reject the World Economic Forum as a fortress of authoritarian power”
“Reproducing a capitalist, patriarchal, warmongering and neo-colonial economy built on exclusion and the relentless extraction of life.”
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:22 PM
A very welcome statement from @diem25.bsky.social opposing the World Economic Forum:
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/diem25-we-...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/diem25-we-...
Reposted by Chris Lang
The UK’s new climate envoy, Rachel Kyte, imagines carbon as ‘the currency of the 21st century’ - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
The UK’s new climate envoy, Rachel Kyte, imagines carbon as “the currency of the 21st century”
What a £4 million donation to the Labour Party from the Cayman Islands gets you.
open.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:52 PM
The UK’s new climate envoy, Rachel Kyte, imagines carbon as ‘the currency of the 21st century’ - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
New Scientist on carbon offsets:
One of the five worst ideas of the 21st century.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/new-scient...
One of the five worst ideas of the 21st century.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/new-scient...
New Scientist: Carbon offsets are one of the five worst ideas of the 21st century
Along with Bitcoin, Social media, Alternative fuels, and Effective altruism.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:07 AM
New Scientist on carbon offsets:
One of the five worst ideas of the 21st century.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/new-scient...
One of the five worst ideas of the 21st century.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/new-scient...
Reposted by Chris Lang
I'll be in conversation with @annpettifor.bsky.social in a few weeks at Foyles on all things finance!
Hopefully see some of you there - and look out for our interview with Ann @the-breakdown.bsky.social this Thursday 👀
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-global...
Hopefully see some of you there - and look out for our interview with Ann @the-breakdown.bsky.social this Thursday 👀
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-global...
The Global Casino: Ann Pettifor and Adrienne Buller in Conversation
Celebrated economists Ann Pettifor and Adrienne Buller discuss how the global financial system, left unregulated, is wrecking our lives
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 10:20 AM
I'll be in conversation with @annpettifor.bsky.social in a few weeks at Foyles on all things finance!
Hopefully see some of you there - and look out for our interview with Ann @the-breakdown.bsky.social this Thursday 👀
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-global...
Hopefully see some of you there - and look out for our interview with Ann @the-breakdown.bsky.social this Thursday 👀
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-global...
Reposted by Chris Lang
Hundreds and hundreds of people have joined the Green Party since this was broadcast.
Together - we are growing this movement.
Join us: join.greenparty.org.uk
Together - we are growing this movement.
Join us: join.greenparty.org.uk
Help us make hope normal again.
Join the Green Party now.
Join the Green Party now.
January 23, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Hundreds and hundreds of people have joined the Green Party since this was broadcast.
Together - we are growing this movement.
Join us: join.greenparty.org.uk
Together - we are growing this movement.
Join us: join.greenparty.org.uk
Reposted by Chris Lang
“While for decades we have been relying on market mechanisms to somehow magically fix the climate crisis, it’s now clear this approach isn’t going to do. The only way to make it work is coordinated government action on a massive scale.”
- @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
- @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
Book review: Less is More by Jason Hickel
How degrowth will save the world.
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:47 PM
“While for decades we have been relying on market mechanisms to somehow magically fix the climate crisis, it’s now clear this approach isn’t going to do. The only way to make it work is coordinated government action on a massive scale.”
- @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
- @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...
Dubai-based Alpha MBM Investments is developing a US$4 billion oil refinery in Uganda, while its subsidiary, East African Carbon Company, claims to be developing nature-based carbon projects in Uganda.
Business as usual for carbon markets.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/east-afric...
Business as usual for carbon markets.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/east-afric...
East African Carbon Company claims to be setting up carbon projects in Uganda. It is a subsidiary of Alpha MBM Investments, a Dubai-based company developing a US$4 billion oil refinery in Uganda
The chairman of Alpha MBM Investments is Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai’s royal family.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Dubai-based Alpha MBM Investments is developing a US$4 billion oil refinery in Uganda, while its subsidiary, East African Carbon Company, claims to be developing nature-based carbon projects in Uganda.
Business as usual for carbon markets.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/east-afric...
Business as usual for carbon markets.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/east-afric...
The last case study in the REDD-Monitor series Crooked Carbon Business by Jutta Kill and Simon Counsell looks at the Livelihoods' Mangrove Restoration project in Senegal.
🚨 Percentage of budget paid to communities: 5.2%
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
🚨 Percentage of budget paid to communities: 5.2%
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
Crooked Carbon Business: Livelihoods’ Mangrove Restoration project in Senegal
Substandard wages for villagers. Carbon credits for corporations.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 11:43 AM
The last case study in the REDD-Monitor series Crooked Carbon Business by Jutta Kill and Simon Counsell looks at the Livelihoods' Mangrove Restoration project in Senegal.
🚨 Percentage of budget paid to communities: 5.2%
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
🚨 Percentage of budget paid to communities: 5.2%
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
In July 2025, Cynthia Giles and Cary Coglianese wrote an editorial in Science titled, "Auditors can't save carbon offsets".
Here are their replies to two carbon offset industry responses to their research and critique.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/caveat-emp...
Here are their replies to two carbon offset industry responses to their research and critique.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/caveat-emp...
Caveat emptor: Auditors can’t save carbon offsets
The authors of an editorial in Science magazine reply to carbon offsetting industry responses to their critique.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:54 PM
In July 2025, Cynthia Giles and Cary Coglianese wrote an editorial in Science titled, "Auditors can't save carbon offsets".
Here are their replies to two carbon offset industry responses to their research and critique.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/caveat-emp...
Here are their replies to two carbon offset industry responses to their research and critique.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/caveat-emp...
A series of investigations and academic reports have exposed serious problems with Ecotrust's Trees for Global Benefits project in Uganda - mainly that the trees are planted on farmland, meaning that people end up going hungry.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
Crooked Carbon Business: Trees for Global Benefits in Uganda
Carbon credits for rich countries. Hunger for Ugandan farmers.
reddmonitor.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:41 PM
A series of investigations and academic reports have exposed serious problems with Ecotrust's Trees for Global Benefits project in Uganda - mainly that the trees are planted on farmland, meaning that people end up going hungry.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/crooked-ca...